Tag Archives: Cabaret

Willkommen. Bienvenue. Welcome.
These three words – or rather, this one word in these three languages – is deliciously familiar to Broadway fans far and wide.

It is therefore with great anticipation that audiences welcome the new revival of Cabaret to Broadway, which begins performances tonight: March, 21, 2014. These are the lyrics that begin the opening number of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical masterpiece, sung by the ultimate provocateur, the Master of Ceremonies. This role, in a turn of events generally unusual for Broadway but not for this show, is revived along with the musical itself. Alan Cumming, the beloved Scottish actor most recently seen on Broadway in his one-man adaption of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, will reprise the Emcee role, which he also played in 1998 when the musical last appeared on Broadway.

The 2014 revival is produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company at one of their two Broadway houses: Studio 54 on West 54th Street. This marks the show’s third Broadway revival. It originally premiered in 1966, when it ran for 1,186 performances (including previews) and was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, winning 8 (including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Performance by a Featured Actor – Joel Grey as the Master of Ceremonies, and Best Director – Harold Prince). Cabaret’s first Broadway revival took place in 1987, with Harold Prince once again directing and with Joel Grey reprising his role as the Emcee. The second revival played 2,377 performances, becoming the third-longest running Broadway revival in history, and featured Alan Cumming as the Emcee, a role he had debuted in the 1993 London revival.

When Alan Cumming first played the Emcee, he significantly altered the interpretation from that portrayed by Joel Grey. Grey had embodied the consummate asexual entertainer, but Cumming took on the role in a highly sexualized fashion. Still, both interpretations were so inimitable that each actor was asked to reprise his role for the following revival. Furthermore, following in Harold Prince’s tradition of the director reprising his position for this show, Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall, who co-directed the last revival, will also direct the 2014 production.

Starring alongside Cumming in this revival is Michelle Williams in her Broadway debut, playing the role of Sally Bowles: the 19 year-old English cabaret performer who falls in love with a young American writer. Williams rose to fame in the late 90s on the WB’s teen television drama Dawson’s Creek. She was then nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Brokeback Mountain, and also garnered acclaim for her performances in I’m Not There, Synecdoche New York, Shutter Island, and Blue Valentine. The musical also features Tony Award nominees Linda Emond (Death of a Salesman, Life x 3)as Fraulein Schneider, and Danny Burstein (Follies, Golden Boy, South Pacific, The Drowsy Chaperone) as Herr Schultz.

The musical officially opens on April 24, 2014. Though the last revival ran for 6 years, this is slated to be a 24-week limited engagement, with the closing date scheduled for August 31, 2014.

It’s not often that a revival is revived on Broadway, but the Roundabout Theatre Company’s 1998 Tony Award-winning revival of the musical Cabaret is returning to Broadway in 2014. What’s more, the production’s original star, Alan Cumming, will also be reprising his performance as the Emcee.

Starring alongside Alan Cumming will be Michelle Williams, the Oscar-nominated actress known for her work in films such as Brokeback Mountain and Blue Valentine. This will mark her Broadway debut.

“I’m delighted to be stepping back into the Kit Kat Klub one more time,” stated director Sam Mendes, “and to be having the opportunity to re-explore and re-discover this extraordinary musical alongside two equally extraordinary performers.”

Cabaret will start preview performances at Studio 54 (the same theater where the earlier production played) on March 21, 2014, with an opening night scheduled for April 24.

Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, and Michael York are among the cast members of the 1972 film Cabaret who will gather for a reunion on the NBC network’s popular morning show The Today Show on January 30. They will be reuniting in honor of the movie musical’s 40th anniversary.

The movie Cabaret was based on the acclaimed, Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name. Directed by legendary Broadway choreographer Bob Fosse, the film went on to win eight Oscars. Cabaret enjoyed a big hit revival on Broadway in 1998, when the Roundabout Theatre Company put on a new production starring Alan Cumming and Natasha Richardson.

The Cabaret film’s stars, Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey, are still closely associated with the musical in the eyes of many musical theater aficionados. Grey originated the role of the Emcee on Broadway, and the Kander & Ebb songs from the musical are among Liza’s fan favorites.